When I think of someone who embodies all aspects of a leader, this nurse is the first person to come to mind. Amidst a busy job juggling schedules with multiple locations, multiple staff members, and multiple specialties, this nurse works tirelessly to create an environment in which her staff feel happy, supported, and engaged. She is always going above and beyond to motivate and inspire her staff, which in turn creates a happy and upbeat environment for patients and families as well. This leader, along with her staff, are active participants in Shared Leadership, Safety Coach, and many other system-level initiatives.

When our Ambulatory Shared Leadership Engagement Council was looking for ways to engage staff during an extremely difficult time to work in healthcare, the Town Center Outreach Care Clinic was the first place to look, as they already had several initiatives in place. They celebrate one another by using a "positivity board", which is placed in their break room and filled with colorful notes with words of encouragement and compliments. This has since been implemented at CAP and has been a huge success. They also competed in a "30 days of kindness challenge" where they did small acts throughout the month to care for one another and themselves. They created a "kindness door" and the staff signed off on things they were doing each day. These items included making someone laugh, donating a canned food item to their local community, going for a walk with a coworker, eating lunch with someone new, just to name a few. Her team also participates in group fitness classes together.

These are just a few of the many examples of how this nurse leader instills a culture of trust and respect in her department and invests in the personal growth of her staff.